Chronic lower back pain is a serious problems that more and more individuals struggle with. Sedentary lifestyle, bad posture, obesity and aging could all contribute to the problem or aggravate the condition even further.

It’s very important to start looking for the right treatment immediately. The pain can be reduced significantly, if you discover the right osteopath or medical professional to diagnose the issue and administer the best possible treatment.

Lower back pain can be completely debilitating and in most cases, seeking treatment early will help you get over the pain much quicker.

Choosing the Right Osteopath

In the States Osteopathic doctors rely on different techniques and they may also prescribe medications that will diminish the pain. Choosing the right osteopathic practitioner will obviously be determining for your satisfaction with the treatment.

In the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, treatment is very much hands on, with no medication prescription at all. For more on this you can visit: https://formclinic.com/osteopathy/

You may want to ask friends that have undergone treatments or do online research to figure out which osteopath has the best reputation. This preliminary research will be sufficient for narrowing it down to a couple of possibilities.

Next, you may want to visit the clinic or ask a couple of questions over the phone. What kinds of techniques does the osteopath rely on? The treatment of lower back pain will most commonly include the following:

– Counterstrain: from a position of maximum pain, the doctor takes the patient to a position of maximum comfort, discovering a medium in-between.
– Massages: numerous studies show that therapeutic massages can lead to a significant reduction in lower back pain.
– High velocity low amplitude thrusts: this is one of the best lower back pain treatment options for a reason. The technique is similar to chiropractic practices and it targets the joints.

Other lower back pain treatment techniques that good osteopaths rely on include soft tissue mobilization and myofascial therapy.

A Few Additional Tips

Make sure that you have the right diagnosis before seeking one treatment option or another. Lower back pain could be caused by several factors and aggravated by multiple others. The right diagnosis will help for the selection of a treatment that will deliver long-lasting results.

You may want to try manual therapy like massage before opting for medications. Anti-inflammatory pain killers and muscle relaxants are frequently used in the case of back pain. Some of these medications, however, are suitable solely for short-term usage. Safer treatment possibilities do exist, so it’s best to give those a try before opting for pain killers.

Finally, a good osteopath will advice you to start leading a more active lifestyle. Gentle physical activity will often do miracles for lower back pain reduction. A combination of osteopathic therapy and gentle exercise can help you find pain relief that will be sustainable over a longer period of time.

In 1874, Andrew Taylor Still, MD, developed a distinctive form of medical care that we now know as Osteopathy. Dr. Still, was a physician and surgeon in Kirksville, Missouri. His philosophy was that all body systems are interrelated and dependent upon one another for good health. He believed that in order to achieve the highest possible form of health, your body should work together in harmony.

Dr. Still & the History of Osteopathic Treatment

Dr. Still was born in Virginia in 1828, to a Methodist minister and physician. Dr. Still soon decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and started studying medicine and serving as an apprentice to his father. He become a licensed MD in the state of Missouri. In the early 1860’s, he completed additional studies at the college of Physicians and Surgeons in Kansas City (Missouri) and went on to serve as surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War.

After the Civil War, Still returned home only to lose three of his children to spinal Meningitis in 1864. Dr. Still concluded that the medical practices of his day were frequently ineffective, and at time even harmful. He spent the next ten years of his life studying the human body to find a better way to treat disease.

Osteopathic Philosophy – Prevention and A “Holistic” Approach

After years of research and clinical observation, Dr. Still truly believed that the musculoskeletal system played a important role in health and disease and that the body contained all the elements needed to maintain good health, if stimulated correctly.

He believed that that by applying manual techniques (now know as osteopathic manipulative medicine) the practitioner is able to correct the structure imbalances in the patients body. Dr. Still firmly believed that the body’s has the inert ability to heal itself and therefore by improving the structure the function could also be greatly improved.

Dr. Still also promoted the concept of preventive medicine and was quick to emphasised that treatment should consider the person and not the disease.

Opening of the Osteopathic Schools

Using his beliefs and philosophies, Dr. Still opened the first school of osteopathic medicine in Kirksville, in 1892. The American School of Osteopathy (now known as the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine) took on 22 osteopathic students, which including both men and women. Students were tough over a two year period and were tough physiology and anatomy. His graduating students where awarded the title of D.O (Doctors of Osteopathy).

Difference Between Osteopathy in USA and UK

Since the introduction of Osteopathy by Dr. Still the American medical system has integrated Osteopathy as a medical speciality, which means that Physicians licensed as Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs), like their MD counterparts, must pass a national or state medical board examination in order to practice medicine.

Osteopathy was brought to London, England by J. Martin Littlejohn. who was one of Dr. Still’s early students. He was also the Dean of the American School of Osteopathy and later founded Chicago College of Osteopathy in 1900. Littlejohn moved back to London in 1913, where he helped found the British School of Osteopathy (BSO) and the Journal of Osteopathy in 1917. This helped to lay foundations for Osteopathy in Europe.